Kona Bay Cafe, Lantana Fl.

Kona Bay Cafe, located on E. Ocean Ave in Lantana, Fl.  is a small, breakfast and lunch cafe that serves a decent variety of breakfast and lunch options.  They are open from 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM.  The wife and I were able to go on a "Day Date" and we stopped here for a late breakfast.  We opted to sit outside under the covered patio where we had an OK view of the Intracostal waterway and an Excellent view of the construction being done on the Lantana bridge.  Our servers did offer to let us move inside if the construction got too loud, but it wasn't an issue for us and the weather was beautiful.

I had the Morning Aloha, which consists of eggs scrambled with bacon, sausage and ham topped with provolone cheese along with your choice of grits, hash browns or Home-style potatoes and toast.  The wife had the Kona Sampler that came with eggs to order, half a biscuit with gravy, french toast slices, bacon and and  choice of grits, hash browns or Home-style potatoes.  Overall the food was good, but I felt my eggs were a little over done, but still tasty enough.  The wife thoroughly enjoyed her meal and finished it completely to both our surprises.

The service was very friendly, and prompt, but being a Tuesday and around 11 in the morning, the restaurant was not crowded.  The waitresses worked as a team and we didn't have any issues.

Overall we were quite pleased with our choice and will probably go back.

Service: A
Food: B
Portion size: A

The Garden Grill, Epcot, Orlando Florida.

The Garden Grill

Located in the Land Pavilion at the Epcot theme park is with out a doubt one of our favorite restaurants to visit when we "Do Disney".  The first thing you'll notice about the restaurant is that it spins, not fast enough to make anyone sick, but it rotates through the different landscapes of the "Living with the Land" ride. You'll see the American Plains, Jungles and more.  The restaurant is also a Character Dining location, and you will get visits from Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto so you will definitely want to bring your camera, especially if you have little ones.

There are no traditional menus at the Garden Grill, meals are served all you can eat"Family style" where the staff brings out platter of food which include steak, fish, turkey and lots of sides.  If you want more of anything, you just ask your server and they will bring it out to you.  Much of the food is actually produced in the sustainable eco-friendly farms at Epcot.  You can finish off your meal with one of the seasonal deserts.

Overall, this is one of our "must visit" places whenever we go.  We have always gotten excellent service and very good food.  We highly recommend you get reservations in advance and after checking the Disney website it appears the grill is no longer open for lunch, hours are 4 pm-8 pm.  You'll want to plan to spend at least an hour or more here, so if you get a fast pass or have an itinerary for other shows or attractions you'll need to take that into consideration.

Also, due to the style of the restaurant (and because it's Disney), they are a little more expensive than some of the other options available in the parks.

For more reviews you can go here to see what other people are saying about The Garden Grill

Cheddar's, Wellington Fl

Cheddar's, Wellington Fl

It's been a while since we've done a review  (we don't get to go out as much since the birth of our third son), we got a chance to eat at Cheddar's located on SR-7 in Wellington, Fl.  We arrived a little after 6:30 Saturday evening and the place was packed.   Luckily they have ample parking.  We had a large party of 8, including the baby and other 2 boys, so we expected to have to wait a little while.  After checking in with the host, they told us it would be about 30 minutes or so and that there were several other large parties just ahead of us.  It ended up being about a 45 minute wait after all was said and done.  Which, when dealing with such a large party is not that uncommon.

When we first walked in, they thing we noticed is that the restaurant is dark.  The ambiance has little pockets of light but overall it's quite dim, though the large lighted fish tank that divides the Bar side from the Dinning Room side is a nice touch of color.

There isn't much to say about the service we had, it was acceptable not outstandingly great, but not bad by a long shot.  We had one issue where our original server had to leave because of an emergency and we had to get a replacement.  The transition was fairly seamless and we didn't have any problems with it.

As for the food, let's say that you really get WAY more than you pay for.  Portion sizes are large, out of the 7 people who ordered only 2 finished their meals.  Everyone else got to-go bags.  I ordered the "Baked Spasagna" which is spaghetti layered with cheese and baked with a meat sauce like a lasagna.  This is something that might be considered comfort food.  It's a large rich meal that definitely fills you up.  I would most certainly order this again.  The wifey ordered the Chicken Tender Salad, she didn't finish.  This was a large fresh salad topped with about 5 good sized chicken tenders.  The other people in our party ordered the Steak and Tender combo, the Chicken and Waffles, the Chicken Tender platter and the two older boys got the Monte Dogs, which are like corn dogs.  Everyone really enjoyed their meals and as said before the portion sizes are big.


Overall, we were very happy with our experience and we will be back.

Scores
Food: A+, Cooked well, served quickly and really I can't say enough about the portion sizes.
Service: A, even with the hiccups we didn't have any problems.
Price: A, you really get your moneys worth here

Crazy Buffet, West Palm Beach, Fl

   This is a user submitted review.  Sounds like it didn't go so well...  which is sad.  They do have a very large sushi selection and hibachi grill.  However the general hot food selection is "fair".

Crazy Buffet, an Asian style buffet located on Palm Beach Lakes Blvd. near I-95, had always been a favorite of mine.  They showcase a variety of buffet style cuisine from the east, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, etc.  There is a hibachi grill, and fresh sushi bar options to compliment the buffet.  I usually enjoy my time there. 
     However, this past weekend my family and I gathered there to celebrate my father's birthday (Dinner is free on your birthday).  We also obtained a coupon for $2 off per meal for a group up to six.  Unfortunately, they told us once we got there, we could either use the coupon, or the birthday special, not both; even though the coupon didn't specify this particular exclusion.  We also had two three year old children and a 10 month old.  They charged $8 for the two three year old kids and added a charge for a kid's soda for my nephew who had water. 
     It has been my experience that this restaurant is a busy and popular place to dine, but this time around, at seven on a Saturday night, it was quite empty.  Perhaps this is a sign that I am not the only one who has had a not so great experience at the Crazy Buffet recently.


Signed Heartbroken and on the Lookout for a New Buffet 

Tusker House, Animal Kingdom, Orlando Florida.

The Tusker House, is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom park.  You'll find it just as you cross over the bridge when you walk into the "African land" part of the park.  As with most Disney restaurants, I HIGHLY recommend that you make reservations when you plan your trip.  Even with reservations,  some of the more popular places, you can expect to wait up to an hour to be seated.  One thing done to help occupy your wait is the offering of a character photo opportunity.

Our little family waiting to be seated

Despite waiting about 45 minutes, the Tusker House, in our opinion, was very much worth the wait.  The restaurant is in a buffet style that has a very large selection of hot and cold foods, plus a very nice dessert bar.  One of the more interesting parts of the restaurant is the "Wall of Fire", an 18 foot long rotisserie style grill that continually cooks the grilled meats that are served.  Some of these grilled selections included pork loin, roast beef, rotisserie chicken and much more.

The service was quite acceptable, our waiter was very friendly and promptly kept the drinks refilled and the empty plates off the table.  Which when it comes to buffet's is really all you can ask for.  In addition to the characters outside, the inside portion is also character dining.  Four Disney characters circulate around the room offering photo opportunities.  We were able to get our Pictures taken with Goofy, Micky, Daisy and Donald.  Having them walk around was a really big plus for us because of our little ones.  Also, they periodically have a miniature parade, and the little ones are given African noise makers and they can get up and walk around with Goofy and the other cast members

Little man with his Grandma during the parade

Price wise, it was a little steep, but you definitely get what you pay for.  All-in-all, this was a really fun dinning adventure, one that we would like to do again.

Scores:
Food: A (Outstanding selection, and really tasty)
Service: B (It's a buffet)
Portion size: N/A (Again, buffet)

Upcoming trip and reviews! (Orlando, FL)

DA is really excited, in about 2 weeks we'll be traveling to Orlando to visit the "House of Mouse".  That's right, we're going to DISNEY WORLD.  As always, we'll being doing reviews of the places we dine at and we have several reservations already lined up from across all the parks.

In no particular order we will be visiting,

1. The Tusker House in Animal Kingdom
2. The Garden Grill in Epcot
3. The Biergarten also in Epcot
4. The Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom
5. 50's Prime Time Cafe & Sci-FI Drive in theater both of which are in Disney's Hollywood Studios formerly known as MGM.

As you can see, we have quite a full schedule lined up. If anyone has any suggestions for other places we should try to visit, the please email us or post it in the comments sections and as always thanks for sharing us with your friends and your support!

Kobosko's Kreamery, Wellington FL

Kobosko's Kreamery was a really nice change of pace.  For those who don't know Kobosko's is an ice cream shop, candy store and they also sell flower arrangements, cakes and pies.  They have over 30 different flavors of ice cream.  We went the other day the staff, though young, was both friendly and quick. 

The ice cream was at least on par, if not better than, Carvel or Baskin Robbins.  It didn't have that "left in the cooler" ice build up at all.  I really can't say too much more about Kobosko's other than it was a really great way to spend a Sunday evening. 

Overall, I give them a B+


Kobosko's is located at "Kobosko's Crossing" in Wellington, Fl (on Forrest hill Blvd, east of State Road 7 near Olympia).

Beefeeders, Palm Springs, Fl

Beefeeders Steakhouse has re-opened (again) in Palm Springs, Fl.  It is located on Forrest Hill, just West of Congress Ave on the south side of the roadway.  I'll start out by showing a picture from inside the restaurant. 



The ambiance is done really well, and they have a very "old school" elegance inside.  Beefeeders is dark with out being dreary.  It almost reminds me of restaurants from up north. 

We went with a fairly large party (7 including both boys) for a birthday party.  We had reservations set up for 6pm on a Saturday, but we probably didn't need them as the restaurant was not very crowded. 

As for the Food and Service, I'll be honest, we weren't impressed.  This is, for this area, a pretty pricey establishment.  Average entre' costs are between $20-40, if you don't get one of the "early bird specials", then you can expect to put down a pretty large chunk of change.  As for the steaks, I wasn't impressed.  While they were excellent cuts of meat, there was hardly any flavor.  It just tasted, dull.  There was no pop or kick or pizazz.  Our server though very friendly and personable, just didn't seem like he was interested in the quality.  It's little stuff, like asking if people want anymore drinks, or making sure the correct side dishes go on the right plates.  You know, basic service type of things.  Another thing that dropped Beefeeders down, is that they got rid of their Salad Bar.  Now you have a choice of House Salad (lawn clipping style aka Mixed greens.) or Caesar, no more do you have the option of getting the unlimited salad bar, with that awesome green ranch dressing.  The reasoning behind it is that they were loosing too much money on the salad bar.

Overall I was highly disappointed with this trip out and unless some changes are made, I can't recommend this restaurant

Scores
Service: C (Friendly, but with messed up orders)
Portion size: C
Food: D

John G's Manalapan, FL

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to visit John G's new location.  The restaurant is now located in the shopping center on the Southwest corner of Ocean Ave and A1A.  It's right across the street from the Ritz-Carlton hotel and the Lantana Beach .  One thing you'll note right away though, is that John G's no longer has that signature view over the ocean, it's now surrounded on all sides by Trees and other buildings.

We arrived around 9am and the "traditional" line had already started forming.  I should add that for this trip, we had a fairly large party, 5 adults and our 2 little ones.  Due to this, we had to wait till one of the larger tables was available and we didn't get seated till around 10am.inside of the restaurant.  The new facility is very nice, it's a lot more open than the old restaurant, and significantly brighter too.  They must have moved some of the old furnishings and wall decor because they still had the wood paneling along the kitchen, The prep area also was still decorated with those old fashion "flip chart style" menu's that announced the specials of the day, which I don't believe had been changed in 30 years.

Although they were extremely busy, the server came back after a few minutes and with our drinks and took our food orders.

The menu though not too large, does still have a good selection of items. 

The food overall was good, and we enjoyed our meal.  I'm not going to go into what everybody ordered because, quite frankly I don't remember :).  However I ordered the # 5 which is 2 Eggs to order(scrambled), Hash browns or Grits (Grits), toast and fruit cup or juice. I also chose the side of ham at additional cost.

Despite how good everything was, this outing was missing something.  I don't know exactly what it is, the food was like it always has been, and the restaurant was clean and the staff friendly.  I don't know if it is the change of location that was throwing me off, but not being able to look out on the water might have had something to do with it.  Hopefully I'll be able to get used to the change.  That being said, one of the good things about the new location is free parking.  So not having to worry about getting a parking ticket while waiting in line is definitely a plus.
Also for those who don't know John G's is only open from 7:00am to 3:00pm and they still do not accept credit cards.  Though they do have an ATM on site.

Scores:
Food:  B+
Portion Size: A
Service: A

Cici's Pizza Greenacres, FL

The best way to describe this establishment is also exactly what it is... "Cheap pizza Buffet". If you're looking for a gourmet culinary experience you might want to just pass on by as this is not the place for you. On the other hand, if you want to consume large amounts of cheap, but filling pizza. While getting the opportunity to play some arcade games and watch TV for a ridiculously low price, then you might want to stop on by.

You'll be able to get a dine-in meal with drink for less than $8.00. Also at this location, they have several arcade machines and a big screen TV that they use to show cartoons.

The pizza choices are pretty good, and they continually put out new options.

If you've got kids who are around ages 4-14 (ish) then this is decent place to go out for a night. Also, teenagers tend to head here on the afternoons of Half-days at school.

Food quality wise, they won't win any awards, but it's still pretty passable and the garlic bread sticks were very good.

We would definitely go back again, even if price was the only consideration.

Friendly's, Royal Palm, Fl

After our break, we're back!

I know this is a "Dinner" review site, but we like to review all sorts of meals :)

The other morning, we went out to breakfast at Friendly's. Now most people probably think of Friendly's as an Ice Cream/Dessert place, but they'd be wrong. They actually have a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu to go along with the desserts Options.

We arrived around 9:30`ish in the morning, and were able to be seated right away. The server came over and was very personable and he got our drink orders right away. Throughout out the whole meal, out server was great. He was quick with requests and very friendly and professional. It was the kind of service that brings people back.

For the meal, I chose the Lumberjack, It comes with 3 eggs' any style, bacon or sausage and either 3 pancakes, 3 slices of French toast or Muffin ($6.99) I ordered it scrambled, w/ bacon and french toast, and I added a slice of ham to go with it. The food itself wasn't bad, the bacon was just the way I like it, cooked and chewy but not crispy/burnt like some people like it. The French toast was surprisingly good, I'm not normally a fan, but these I'd order again. The eggs were OK, but I don't know if they used a full 3 eggs, it didn't really look like they did, but they cooked properly and had great flavor. The ham slice, which actually ended up being 3 smaller slices, was cooked nicely and went well with everything.

The wife ordered the French Toast breakfast, which comes (again) with bacon or sausage, and she had it with bacon. Also she added a side of country potatoes. Everything I said about my french toast and bacon can just be repeated for hers :). She, said it tasted really good, but recently she's only able to eat a few bites at each meal due to the pregnancy.

For our little guy, we ordered the kids meal "two egg's" breakfast, which also comes with bacon or sausage and toast. As I'm sure you can guess, he had the bacon. Let me tell you, little dude tore into that bacon, it was almost like he couldn't get enough. He also ate most of his eggs and a slice of toast and several of the wifey's potatoes. We were really proud of how well he did with his eating.

Overall, this was a nice family breakfast out and for all 3 of us with drinks, meals and sides was under $25 without tip. For the amount of food and the service we received, we consider this a good deal.

Grades:
Food: B+
Portion Size: B+
Service: A+

Red Lobster Lake Worth, FL

This is a VERY short review.

Tonight, GG (Great Grandma) was baby sitting our little guy so that the wifey and I could have a nice date night out. So we decided to go to the Red Lobster at the corner of Lake Worth Rd and Jog Rd.

The manager and a hostess were seating a family as we walked in and we took our spot as next in line. Also, as we were coming in several people came in behind us. The manager came back and asked how many in our party, and we told her "two". Now keep in mind we were at the FRONT of the line. She then stopped and looked around at the other guests and asked if they were next, as if we had "cut" in front of them. The other party pointed at us and said "they were". After the manager finally decided we really were the next party, she sat us in the front dining room. She also didn't tell anyone working in that section that she sat us. She just walked back to the office area.

After about 10 minutes of being ignored, with out any of the staff who were walking by even acknowledging out presence we decided to leave.

As we were walking out, I gave the manager a card and told her how disappointed we were. I will say she did try to fix the situation and did offer to "comp" our dinner for the night, but we declined.

Overall, we were quite disappointed, as we'd never had this situation happen to us. Normally this Red Lobster has had excellent and quick service. We also, don't really blame the server assigned to our section. Yes, they are supposed to monitor it and are responsible for it. But, if someone seats a party in your section and doesn't tell you about it, it's kind of hard to keep track of things. Hopefully this won't happen to anyone else in the future. In our opinion, it was a failure of management more than anything else.

Smokey Bones Wellington, Fl.

Tonight as a spur of the moment decision, we decided to eat out. We chose Smokey Bones because it had been a while since we had been there. We arrived around 4:30 PM and the restaurant wasn't too crowded. Sadly, they didn't seem to be very organized. The hostess started to sit us down, but one of the waitresses told her that she was leaving, and there wasn't any coverage in that section. So the hostess had us go back to waiting area.

After another short wait, not even 5 minutes, they got us seated. That being said, and for those who've worked in the restaurant business will understand this, our poor server dude got sat 2 parties at once. Our party which was just me and the wife, and another party with about 6 people in it. As you can expect, the service level was slower than normal. What was really annoying, was the fact that although our server was busting his but trying to take care of his tables. The rest of the staff was just standing around the kitchen area just talking. It seemed like there was NO teamwork at all. Also, in my opinion, in the restaurant industry, if you as a server are not actively getting something for a customer or cleaning something, then you should NOT be seen. The last thing a customer wants is to have an empty drink and see staff members laughing and joking with one another.

Now I'm sure there were other circumstances such as the ones standing around were either the oncoming dinner crew or something. But still, it's just not professional and shouldn't be done.

As for the food, the wife just ordered an appetizer sampler called the "Crowd Pleaser", which she really enjoyed and said she would order again. It came with seasoned fries, chicken tenders and South West spring rolls. Portion size was good for an appetizer, with enough left over (after one person eating) to take some home. I ordered the pulled pork platter, and I wasn't impressed. The pork was too dry, even with extra BBQ sauce at the table. And there were lots of inedible fatty parts. The pulled pork is not something I would order again from here.

All in all, we were disappointed by our adventure out. Although it was obvious our server was really making an effort, he remembered special requests such as extra ranch and he brought full drinks with out being asked, he was hindered by the lack of teamwork. He was sat with way too many tables (I believe he had 4 or 5 more in addition to us and the large party) at one time.

Grades:
Service C- (Our server was at least a B+, but all the others standing around not doing anything made it slower and lower)
Food: C (Wife liked hers, I wasn't a fan)
Portion Size: B

Mississippi Sweets BBQ (Wellington/Lake Worth)

I'll start out saying that hands down, the food was wonderful. I had the pulled pork platter with the home made applesauce and cornbread, The wifey had the pulled pork sandwich. The pork was very full of flavor and I found it had a great texture and tenderness. I preferred mine without the BBQ sauce. The wife liked hers better with the BBQ Sauce, and overall we were both extremely satisfied with both the flavor and portions sizes.

Despite how good the food is, I think this restaurant will turn into a "Take-out only" venue.  The service was sub par. We either had a waitress who was very new, or didn't care about service quality. The meal started out well, she came over, got our drink and appetizer orders and fairly promptly brought them out. The food was also served in fairly short order, this is where the issues began. Once we got our food, our waitress never checked on us again. She walked by several times, but not once did she even acknowledged our presence.

The manager was making his rounds and checking on his customers (like a good manager should do) and we ended up asking him if he could get us another drink (This would be a good time to add, they they don't do free re-fills at this establishment, at least for soda's) and a to-go box. He brought the drinks and box out very quickly. As we were finishing our meal, our server came back over to collect the plates and asked if we needed anything else. We said no, just the check. About 20 minutes later she finally returned with the bill and we were able to pay and leave.

All in all this was a very "meh" dinning experience that could have been a wonderful outing. It really is true that it no matter how tasty the food, if the customer is not happy with the service it really takes away from the whole meal.

This restaurant is located in the Publix shopping plaza at Lake Worth Rd and SR-7.

Grades
Taste: A+
Portion Size: A+
Service: D-

Recommendations: Take-out only.